


Boy Grinder

by homotrons



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe- Soulmates, F/M, Gen, M/M, Platonic Sex, Soulmates, lmao yeah, some pairings not tagged bc they're not that relevant or focused on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-22 03:45:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2493236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homotrons/pseuds/homotrons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything's the same but it's a bit different. People have one shot to meet their soulmate and they might as well be shot in the forehead if they choose to mess with the system. A story of three Brians, two best friends, and a bicycle shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay so i can understand why you might think that frank and gerard are the best friends but actually it's frank and jack lmao. i feel like i should apologize for the odd mix of characters but i really can't bc this story is supposed to help me start writing well again and actually really enjoy what i'm writing which i haven't been for a while so sorry for the shit summary though. title's from a jack off jill song bc i just went through my music and laughed at how well it fit plus they're bae <3

"Did you hear about Victoria?" asked Jack as he picked at a loose string on his trousers. The sun was bright but the temperature was chilly and he'd regretted taking off his hoodie though he was burning when he was wearing it. There was no happy medium with weather like that and for the most part, they'd all adapted.

"Yeah, how old is she?" Frank squinted. Autumn was nearly in full swing and the outside of the bicycle shop was covered with dying trees that they chose to sit under and on top of old fliers and candy wrappers. 

"Nineteen I think," Jack answered and began to cough into his elbow as seasonal effective allergies were coming along with the impending change of season. "You got any water?"

"Just go inside and get some from the cooler, it's not like they're going to tell you not to," Frank bent his leg out and stretched it to relieve the ache. 

"Yeah, but like what if Brian's working?" Jack complained and scrunched up his large blackhead ridden nose. Frank eyed him confusedly. 

"Schechter or Warner?" Jack shook his head and nodded a bit.

"Schechter." Frank snorted and learned forward to get the sun out of his eyes. 

"He doesn't hate you that bad, just get some damn water. I'm not giving up mine on you being a damn pussy," he nudged his friend and finally Jack stood up and agreed to go in. They'd made Hardy's Bicycles their resort after having to get Jack's bike repaired due to a park fountain related incident. The employee on duty made fun of him and the night they'd gotten stuck in a snow storm across the street and decided to run in was the official mark of their constant welcome into the small business. It was sort of trashy and surprisingly not foreclosed or bankrupt though it ran well due to a team of twenty somethings with the ability to work a wrench and put things in the wrong place till they worked. 

The leaves crumbled under his feet as he returned with a small paper cup of water, nearly standing arm hair, and a long haired man following behind him who was clad in the sort of clothes he would've worn if he were still living in Florida. Tights, small denim shorts and oversized short sleeve tee shirts weren't exactly New Jersey apparel but they were both longing for the day he actually dressed appropriately so they could make fun of him. 

"You've going to freeze to damn death someday," Frank teased as the oldest of the three sat down beside the skunk haired teenager. 

"Nah, he can just make a coat out of his hair by time that happens," Jack laughed and swallowed a gulp of cold water from the shop's cooler. 

"Wait, so if you're not working, was it Schechter on duty?" Frank asked the Brian sitting across from him. "Jack's afraid of him, thinks he's like the bicycle shop boogeyman." Jack rolled his eyes and finished his drink quickly due to the little amount of fluid that could fit in a Dixie cup.

"No, he's not coming in for another hour. Gabe's on duty," Brian answered and pushed his hair behind his left ear, "crazy fucker." Gabe was a part-time employee that had originally only supposed to been working summer shifts but got asked to work at least until New Years. He'd given the customers some of the wildest advice and often left them confused but he sold bicycles rapidly. Perhaps it was from his previous experience working at a Best Buy that he'd been fired from for playing INXS through the speakers at full volume. "So, what year of school are you two going into now?" 

"I'm going to be a senior and Jack here's a junior. I might start doing work at one of the community centers," Frank explained. Brian was in his mid-twenties and had moved to New Jersey two years after graduation. Neither of them knew a lot about him other than where he'd lived and some fun stories from Christian school which Frank gladly added onto with tales of his days at Catholic School.

"I always forget Jack's younger than you considering how much taller than you he is," Brian commented, making a harmless jab at Frank's height just like everyone else. Brian was really tall and thin which made him and Frank standing in front of each other look like a funhouse mirror of sorts. Frank was pretty scrawny, didn't have a lot of body mass, but Brian had nearly permanently sunken in cheeks due to his facial structure and looked sort of like an enlongated stick figure. 

"You two standing next to each other is my favorite thing ever," Jack leaned his head back and smiled to which Frank flipped him off in return. 

"I need to go get back to work. I'm still serious, holler when you guys need jobs because I know it's going to happen soon and here is the only place that you might even have a slim chance with," Brian warned and stood up to walk back to the shop. "Also," he turned around to look at the teenagers still sitting under the wilting tree, "Jeordie's still willing to help you two out with guitar if you need it. Music is a good elective if you're not shit at it." Frank nearly snorted at the fact that he was receiving advice from someone that nearly dropped out of high school. The two sat in silence after Brian returned to work.

"Still sort of surprised about that whole Victoria thing," Jack sighed and bent the previously used paper cup with his calloused fingers. She was a girl that volunteered at the boys' school that they'd grown very close to due to her friendly demeaner and absolute kickass attitude that they couldn't get enough of. She worked in the front office and gave teachers papers during the daytime as a way to earn credits for college. 

"How'd she meet him?" Frank bit at his lip to remove a hardened piece of skin. That was the question everyone eventually got asked, or at least something along those lines. It was fascinating to learn how someone met their soulmate, how the only real piece of significance in their life had been found. People said that everyone was made for someone else, that was why there were two sexes and genetic coding and the reason for living, everyone put so much importance of soul mates. People such as Frank and Jack knew there were some people whose organs weren't actually male or female but then someone else would explain it by saying something about how they were damned from the beginning. They thought it was sort of unfair, though they were both striving for their soulmates themselves even if they wouldn't admit it.

"Not sure, probably just ran into him or something," Jack shrugged. Some people spent their entire lives looking for their soulmates; others just cheated the system. The first people Jack and Frank had ever met that did that were Brian and his best friend Jerodie, they thought the idea of having to find a soulmate was ridiculous and decided to just fuck each other. It was definitely frowned upon and everyone knew about people like them but never acknowledged it. 

"Wild dude," Frank commented, unsure of what to say. "Do you think you'll meet your's? Like are you still going to look for her?"

"I've honestly sort of lost my spirit about it," Jack confessed, "like would I rather spend my time searching for someone who's supposed to somehow complete my life when I don't feel incomplete? I'm content as it is man, I don't think I need to start looking for something when it could be a total shot in the dark, you know? If I stumble into her or some shit then yeah, that's awesome, but I'm not on the hunt anymore." Frank hesitated on his response for a bit, he'd never heard his friend be so blunt about it before. They'd of course discussed it, everyone had, but they'd both been generally positive about it.

"I hear you. I'm still going to look for mine though, it's like guaranteed happiness. Literally nature gave me the key to like eternal joy and shit, why not look for it?" Frank argued. "I'm not going to drive myself crazy over it, but I'm not going to give up looking." Jack nodded quietly.

"I just don't know anymore, like fuck, my mom would get all pumped and start planning a wedding and kids and I just don't think I can handle that. I'm pretty sure I won't try any of what Brian and Jeordie are doing but I really don't want to prioritize something like that." Frank didn't even know his stance much anymore. He didn't look down upon people who did things like that at all, they really won't doing anything harmful, it just wasn't for him and god knows what would happen if he did do something like that. He'd probably end up hanging by his toes and being beat with a spade. 

"The system's fucked, I agree all the way, but why are you giving up so young?" Frank asked somewhat worriedly. They'd always joked about going to the Bahamas with their wives on a houseboat and getting hammered and though it was all a joke, it was weird to think that the possibility of something like that was already eliminated. 

"Because I don't want to center my damn life around finding someone who I might not even find! Because I'm already happy!" Jack was exasperated and it was clear that he was getting angrier the more they spoke.

"You're scared," Frank mumbled. "You're scared too, you're worried you'll never find her." 

"Oh fuck off, thanks Frank, always finding every side to the story! Who gives a damn if I'm scared, I'm fine. What about you, huh? What if you end up fifty-four years old with a shitty grey beard and a bottle of beer crying over how you never found your damn wife? How will it feel if I end up fine on my own and you end up wasting your life over it?" Jack ranted and his acne ridden forehead was all scrunched together. Frank didn't respond, he just sat there and looked at the crumpled blue flyer in front of him with his lips pact together and wrinkling. "I'm sorry dude, but do you see what I mean?"

"Yeah, I really don't like fighting with you, but yeah I sort of get where you're coming from," said Frank solemnly. 

 

\------

 

The school got a new parking lot over the summer. The teacher's union was blocking tax payers' dollars going to raising their salaries and if the school didn't use it, they wouldn't receive the same amount next year so it was spent on the parking lot. Frank looked up at the power line and saw the shoes hanging from one of the cords, leaving him wondering if the dealer was within the school or if it was just a joke. His feet made a slight smacking noise against the new pavement and his head itched from the pollen spread. It was a brief thought that he could blame his bus from dropping him off late as an excuse for being absent for the first minute of class, but other students from the same bus showed up on time. Though they were running, but it would be a poor excuse. 

Mrs. Hammond, the woman who sat at the same simulated wood grain front desk the school had had since 1979 handed Frank a tardy slip and once he arrived to class the teacher merely nodded at him and motioned for him to take a seat. The lesson continued seamlessly and previously unknown to him, one of the chalkboards was replaced with a new whiteboard. He still sort of liked the look of chalkboards and how it made his angst filled teenage soul feel as if it were 1984, but the whiteboard was necessary and soon the whole school would be replaced with them because that was just how advancements in technology worked. His mother had painted his cousin's room with idea paint that turned the wall into a whiteboard. Frank and the younger boy had spent nearly an hour drawing on it. 

He and the student in front of him partnered up to translate the story to each other. Latin wasn't a class he particularly liked taking, but it was a required one.

"Hey William," he greeted his partner. They'd gotten along well and would occasionally meet up with each other during the lunch period and hang out.

"Hi Frank. Why did you miss the first two days?" William asked worriedly in a somewhat hushed tone.

"Sick again," Frank shrugged, "can't help it." His immune system was weak and his mother was reluctant to let him stay home but it was evident from past experiences that if they didn't attempt to tackle whatever he'd contracted early, it'd be infinitely harder to treat it later on.

"I'm sorry," William exhaled. "Sucks you're always getting sick." Frank nodded and contorted his eyebrows at how difficult the translation would be. He usually just played it off and let others do the work and he felt bad knowing how much it clearly annoyed them. "You want to go first?"

"Sure," he accepted hesitantly. "The slave girl sits in the bedroom. The master tells her off and the dog," he stalls, hoping for William to pick it up and finish, "is in the street?"

"Not really, you got the first part correct but the tenses are off and he doesn't necessarily tell her off," William corrects. 

"What is it then?" Frank asked hopelessly. His decline in Latin started after about the third week. 

"How about you just read it in Latin and I'll translate afterward?" William offered as he pushed his hair back behind his ear. 

"Alright," Frank agreed.

 

\------

 

Brian sat at the desk at the bicycle shop with his legs swung over the top and the phone cord tangled around his fingers. He made a motion to silence the nearly giggling boys sitting next to him and waited for the other line to pick up. 

"Ah yes! Hello!" he greeted cheerfully and Jack nearly laughed loudly enough that it would've been audible over the phone. "It's Cecelia, I see you're trying to contact Hardy's Bicycle Shop." Brian strung out his words and raised his pitch to sound girly and dumb. He'd gotten really good at impressions over time and it was a favorite past time of Jack and Frank's to watch him mess with customers. "Oh no, that's horrible! One time I hit the neighbor's kid with my bike, was all bruised up and everything. Couldn't pee in a straight line for days! When do you want to bring in your bike?" Frank snorted and gave him a look indicating that it was his turn next. After watching Brian nod a bit and finally saying a goodbye, he snatched the phone.

"You crazy cunt," he said to the long haired man who had the entire bottom half of his body all over the desk. Frank called the number of the last person that sent a message and sat there with the phone to his ear till they answered. "Hi, it's Gregory, how can I help you?" he said, making his voice purposefully small. "Oh, um, alright, just come in at like four, okay? I'd ask if you're bike's fixed but my coworker's on a rampage," he flicked his wrist at Jack, indicating that he should make some sort of racket. Jack started knocked the cup of pens onto the linoleum floor. "Can't you hear him? His name's Gabe and I'm scared that he's going to do something really crazy soon, I'm shaking oh my god, please help me."

"What are you fuckers doing?" Gabe himself approached the trio from the back end of the store where he was rearranging some of the bikes. Brian shushed him and waited for Frank to continue.

"No, no, I mean I'm fine, but I'm just worried he's going to hurt someone, or even worse, himself," Frank said convincingly and Gabe nearly backhanded him but he had enough of a sense of humor to play into it.

"I'm going to kill everyone in this goddamn place! Cut out all your intestines and string them up on the bike racks, how would that make you feel?" Gabe yelled and Jack nearly fell out of his chair. 

"Please, help, he's gone crazy! I don't know what's happened to him," Frank mumbled and Brian shrieked to make it even more realistic. "No!" Frank shouted, causing them all to silence, "Don't call the police, it's fine, everything's fine, he's just a little out of it." 

Eventually everything wound down and they were all just left laughing a bit before Brian Schechter came through from the backroom. They knew they'd be in trouble, they always were but he was harmless at the end of the day, just very intimidating. He was the manager and had been for two years. Overall he was a very nice guy, just high strung which made him a perfect target for Brian Warner's poking of buttons. They both had a certain amount of mutual respect for each other though it sure didn't stop him from yelling at the four of them when he found out what they'd been doing.

"Stop pranking the damn customers, do you want to lose your jobs?" he stared down the two employees frustratedly to which they both shook their heads, albeit noncommittally. "Yeah, now knock it the hell off." 

"Sorry darling," the other Brian apologized with pursed lips and puppy dog eyes. Their feud of sorts was what Jack and Frank lived for and it wasn't a surprise that his manager was on the verge of pushing him over before deciding to return to the backroom with his breathing so heavy he should've just passed out. If Frank were to have met Brian Schechter alone without any sort of knowledge of his relationship with Brian Warner, he would've been worried by how relaxed him seemed with his somewhat spiky hair and tattooed arms. He gave Frank and his best friend chocolate bars and things like that occasionally though that would never change how hard they laughed when his coworker messed with him.

"That was great," Jack resumed laughing and brushed his hair to the side where it belonged. Frank remembered when they decided to bleach it for the first time and his mom didn't even complain because she was so used to the madness the two fueled. 

"After I get off my shift I can take you two to this frozen yogurt place I found, the girl who works there is named Chantal and she gives me a dollar off every time I go," Brian offered as he scribbled down a customer's information. 

"Sure," Frank gladly agreed and Jack's eyes lit up. Frank appreciated Brian's weird offers so much it was ridiculous. Maybe subconsciously Brian was a sort of replacement for his dad, but he'd never bother to address it or label it. He was sort of like a big brother who'd let them braid his hair once. "When do you get off?"

"Like twenty minutes, I've got a guy coming in in like ten minutes so you two can go wild with the fridge or fuck with Gabe or something until then," Brian glanced between the door and notepad as he wrote. Frank and Jack stood up and walked over to the backroom where the fridge was and prepared for disappointment as it was never really stocked with anything good. It was mostly breakfast burritos and condiments which was unfortunate because no one really wanted to load up on uncomfortable smelling cheesy microwavable foods at four in the afternoon. On lucky days there was leftover Panda Express but that was about every two weeks and they were usually the ones who had to pick it up in the first place.

Frank's phone buzzed and he read the contact name to be his mother. She was still very apprehensive about him spending time down at the bike shop despite having met Brian before and actually been down there herself. He understood her concern, but being a teenage boy, he didn't like his mom worrying about him and what he did in his free time. He never really partied much either though he knew everyone in that shop had done recreational drugs more than once though he sure wasn't going to tell his mom about that. Jack and he had had plenty of alcohol during the summer just because they were teenagers, but that was it. 

He told her that he was alright and how they were going out for frozen yogurt. He didn't see why to lie to her, she'd already lived through his hair dyeing adventures and not turning in his homework for a month, she deserved better. Jack pulled out his phone and started texting as well so they both just sat lounged back on the creaky metal chairs passing the time. Af†er about ten minutes Jeordie walked in and greeted them before lying on the ground because his head hurt and he didn't want to work all that much that afternoon. He was one of the best at sales so he stayed around because no one could do the job quite like him despite looking like a glam rock mess that desperately needed a shower. 

Finally Brian's shift ended and the three of them began walking around the shopping center nearby where the yogurt shop was located. Frank tugged at the lanyard around his neck a bit and walked with an anxious hop in his step. He always kept the keys to his house and to his dad's around his neck because he kept getting locked out and it was easier if he unlocked the door while his parent grabbed groceries and brought them inside. Jack's dad was away a lot but it wasn't nearly the mess that Frank's situation was. 

"Chantal!" Brian said enthusiastically as they entered the store and the redheaded girl behind the counter raised her eyebrows as soon as she heard him

"Good afternoon, what's up?" she asked and began tying her hair back as it was hanging in front of her face. "Who'd you bring?"

"The scoundrels that always hang around the shop," Brian joked and rolled his eyes. "That's Jack and that's Frank," he pointed at the boys respectively. Frank waved a bit and Jack vocally greeted her. 

"Ah, I knew it! So what do you guys want?" Chantal smiled and began grabbing yogurt cups. They recited their yogurt orders and Frank was pleasantly surprised at how casually she acted around them. He was used to being condescended to by adults other than the ones who worked at the bike shop. He assumed it was because he was a little guy and still a teenager but it was still annoying nevertheless.

"Thanks for the discount," Brian grinned and Chantal rolled her eyes. The three sat down and began scarfing down their yogurt.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this focuses so much on frank's job and shit but i need to introduce that as it's a pretty important part of the story. ngl i'm excited about having brian molko come in as he's one of my favorite people and fits well with the story i think

It was officially fall and the bicycle shop was getting far fewer customers than usual due to trails in their area being closed and overall lack of interest due to how cold it was. In other parts of the country, it would be the absolute opposite because autumn was pretty and it wasn't totally freezing yet. Unfortunately that just wasn't the case and their region didn't permit such luck. Jack had asked Brian what it was like in Florida and he told him that no one really biked in Florida.There were just lots of senior citizens and tourists and he lived with his parents so it wasn't like he got out enough to notice anything else. 

Brian and Jeordie sat at the front desk with a space heater and blankets and a fresh pot of coffee. Gabe wasn't working till Monday which was when it was supposed to get a bit warmer and their manager wasn't in yet. Brian's legs took up so much space that he always had them on top of the desk if no one was being served. Jeordie opted to sit crosslegged and with his arms wrapped around his torso in hopes of generating body heat. He always shook and it was partly drugs and partly poor circulation. 

Frank swung open the side door that was for employees only, but the two hadn't bothered to lock it yet. They both looked over at him and waited for him to plop down nearby as he usually did. Normally Frank would make fun of their current predicament though he understood how it felt to be in the cold fall without heating. He didn't resist making a joke about them making a blanket out of their combined excessively long hair. 

"I'm considering it, Jeordie'd make a good fleece jacket," Brian nodded and tried to make his blankets more tight.

"Where are the rest of the guys?" Frank looked around and dropped his lanyard and coat on the top of the desk near Brian's feet. 

"We're understaffed. Brian doesn't come in till three and Gabe's not working till Monday. Patrick quit. I'm hoping we can get some staff soon, but I don't have high expectations. Helps me get paid a bit more I guess," Brian scratched at his hair and blinked heavily a few times due to sleep deprivation. 

"I got a job at a voice studio by the way," Frank announced and thought about how he hadn't told Jack yet because they hadn't seen each other for three days. 

"That'd good. What do you do exactly?" asked Brian. He couldn't really think of a job a seventeen year old could have at a singing studio.

"I just restock water and fix pianos and TVs and shit," Frank answered somewhat dismissively. "Boss's name is Brian actually."

"Oh goddamn it," Brian rolled his eyes and Frank chuckled a bit in a particularly high pitched tone that he still didn't know how he acquired. 

"He's from the UK I guess. Weird sort of accent, he's cool though. Reminds me of you because he looks like a girl," Frank joked which was somewhat true. Brian Molko had a nice jawline and a hairstyle that was popular amongst 1980s teenage girls. His eyes stood out and was overall very pretty which Frank admired and envied in a strange way. Frank liked his appearance for the most part but seeing people that were just stunning always struck a chord with him. He wouldn't openly admit it, but Brian and Jeordie were a bit gorgeous in a horror movie drag queen type way. Jeordie wore babydoll dresses and tights that made him look like Courtney Love in a funhouse mirror and Brian just pulled off androgyny well due to having no particularly masculine features.

"I bet I'm prettier," Brian pursed his lips and adjusted the settings on the space heater so it propelled the most air it could manage. 

"You are the reason the phrase 'putting lipstick on a pig' exists. It's okay, you make it work," Jeordie said dryly. 

"Thanks doll," Brian leaned his head back with the air finally coming from the heater. Frank stood by the next and let his elbows sit on top of the cheap stone. 

"Want me to make 'Help Wanted' posters to hang on the front of the shop? Put ads on Craigslist or some shit, it'll attract someone," Frank suggested and glanced at the door to the backroom mindlessly as that was where the computer was. It used to be at the front desk but it broke down and was now impending repair. Windows Vista was being a bitch as it was and the video card blew out, yet no one had the money to fix it. It was a true example of the joys of poor small businesses. 

"What about that Pete kid you brought in one time?" Jeordie asked and scratched the right side of his torso and head like a dog with fleas. "Does he have a job?"

"Nah, probably not. I'll ask him later. I haven't talked to Jack in a while, school catchup's been kicking my ass," Frank complained. Maybe it was the only child syndrome he had going for him, but he'd gotten along with adults well for the majority of his life. At least the two store employees with their heads so far up each other's asses listened. His grandparents stopped bothering much, they still said to say anything and he knew it was his fault that he didn't. Somewhere along the line, there seemed to be a certain disconnect between him and close adult family members that started and all he had were some college dropouts working at a bicycle shop. 

"Get pneumonia or something?" Brian went through a mental list of all of the illnesses Frank had acquired in the time they'd known each other.

"Nope, not sure actually. Some sort of stomach bug or something. I probably should've quarantined myself, you guys have to work," Frank shrugged a bit and rolled his keys between his fingers.

"You do too now, try to get healthy soon, dude. What hours do you work?"

"Like 3 to 7 on Tuesday through Thursday."

 

\------

The key to the vocal studios rattled as he shook trying to stick it in from the cold and his own beat down body due to being sick. He stopped cutting his hair in August because he hated always wearing beanies in the winter and fall. It was nearly his jaw now and though it looked a bit shaggy and unkempt, it looked alright. His mother stopped worrying about his hair once she got extensions because it became evident that doing things with hair didn't matter much. He usually got a buzzcut for the summer but he and Jack were thinking they could fuck around with it a bit once it got past his chin.

"Frank? Is that you?" his boss called from the studio on the far right. There were only three other instructors and Frank hadn't met any of them so far.

"Yeah, it's me!" he called back and pulled the key out of the lock and stood up all the way. He was going to use the bathroom after it was clear that the two were done talking.

"Great! I bought a flat of water bottles earlier so would you might just sticking them in the bowl by the bench? They're right next to it. Thank you!" Frank hung his coat up on the rack and set to find the abundance of small bottles of water that seemed to be preferred and cheaper than the regular sized ones. He knelt down and used one of his keys to cut the plastic covering it. He picked it up and dropped the bottles into the ovular bowl in front and to the left of him. It was very quiet, indicating that no one besides he or Brian was there.

After receiving no further orders from Brian, Frank sat on the bench with his phone, trying to see if he could figure out their wifi password without any assistance. A small woman walked in and right past him, probably not noticing he was there or assuming he was a student. She had her red hair up in a loose ponytail and looked very composed despite a very casual and disheveled outfit. He assumed she was a teacher judging by her confident stride and not having to wait. Maybe he'd introduce himself to her later or Brian would do it for him.

Frank got his first text from Jack in a few days that was apologizing for not talking much and that he had his family riding him about school so he couldn't leave the house or text much. It was a bit odd for them to not talk much, they'd gone through periods like that before plenty of times but it worried Frank every time. A young faced boy sat next to Frank on the bench with a red face and nearly throbbing zit on his forehead that was probably so swollen and heat deprived due to the cold outside. His hair looked a bit greasy and the brown roots peaked out of the black dye, it was almost charming. 

"Gerard?" Brian shouted from his office and the boy nodded to himself before picking up his shoulder bag with him as he stood up. Frank followed the boy's movements a bit out of his peripheral vision before returning to texting his best friend. He shut the door behind him as he entered the room and Frank didn't hear much from them until he started warm-ups. His voice was very nice, though sounding wobbly and untrained. Frank didn't sing much himself and neither did Jack, the only time he'd really sung was nursery rhymes with Brian Warner and Gabe. They were both decent at singing themselves, though coming from musical backgrounds that didn't really result in singers much. 

Frank sat through the rest of the lesson and one after that while rubbing his eyes and waiting to go home to sleep. There was little work and it made him wonder why either a staff member or a student couldn't just do it. The studio was small, only having three teachers and a small waiting room with a dog bed next to the single bench. He surely didn't get paid much, but it just seemed like it was an unnecessary job for the studio to be offering in the first place. He worried that due to still being ill he might infect students, he didn't want to lose his job and he knew that was the least likely outcome by inconveniencing people still made him uneasy.

At seven he went home and immediately dumped off his bag next to the coach as the majority of his homework had been completed while at work and then fell back onto the couch. He pulled the blanket from the top of the couch where it was sitting and readjusted numerous times to make it cover him and not too uncomfortable with his baggy jeans and hoodie still on. It made him feel even more stuff but he didn't have the motivation to take them off. The lethargy of being sick was still there and it would be a week before it was officially over. His mother was upstairs and hoped he could fall asleep before she came downstairs since talking to people while he was in a napping position or preparing to sleep made him self conscious.

He lazily replied to Jack before rolling to the side with his nose nearly into the couch and beginning the attempt to sleep. He liked messier blankets while trying to nap on the couch but he had to make his bed before going to sleep in it to feel more comfortable. It was better if the sheets and blankets were cold too when he settled into them at night in his room. He was generally a very well organized person, his mother said he probably got it from her because she was always that way herself. He hated having warm feet and he didn't know why, it just made him feel messy once again and that was a feeling he really didn't prefer. 

 

\------

 

Frank hated phoning in requests. He hated feeling like an inconvenience anyway but having to ask people to do things for him he usually would be able to do himself was especially horrible. The first person he texted to ask to drive him to work was non-manager Brian from the bike shop who informed him that he didn't have a license himself. The next was his dad before he hung up, feeling stupid considering he lived across town and they didn't talk much as it was. The last was his friend Jamia who he didn't talk to frequently anymore but still remained very friendly with. She accepted and pulled up in front of his house right before three so he wouldn't be late.

"Hi, Frankie! How are you doing?" she asked cheerfully and climbed into the driver's seat with her friend in tow. 

"I've been alright, tired a lot. Thank you so much by the way, you don't even know," Frank blinked heavily as he strapped himself into the passenger's seat. "I should probably get my license by now, I have my permit but my mom's at work and she might as well have just driven me if she would've been home."

"Oh it's fine, I don't mind at all. It took me a while to even get my permit, don't sweat it," she laughed a bit and changed gears. Frank was a bit intimidated upon realizing he'd have to learn how to drive both a standard and automatic eventually if he were to ever really succeed at his goal of being able to truly drive a car. "Did Jack ever get his license?"

"He's about to, I guess his mom's been really pushing him to lately. I hope he does but whatever's best for him, you know?" Frank waved his hand a bit.

"Ah, I get it. My mom was generally cool with me not doing all of it right away if I didn't want to but I just went for it so I could be able to get myself places if I wanted to. It all depends on the person. Tell Jack to call me up though so we can race sometime once he gets his license," Jamia joked and messed with the radio dial a bit.

"I sure will," Frank smiled. The drive to the studio was generally quiet, it wasn't too far away but the weather was absolutely wild which was the exact reason he needed someone to drive him. Otherwise he would've just walked like he had been the past few days. The roads were all slush and the snow just wouldn't stop even if it was subtle. His constant tiredness had begun to wear off but it was still unpleasant and he coughed a lot when weather like that would occur.

He hopped out of the green minivan and waved goodbye to Jamia before nearly jogging up to the steps of the studio. The glass door was a bit fogged and the sticker of the company logo had been wearing off for years. He swung the door open once he'd unlocked it and for the first time in a while he remembered to lock it again afterward. The dog looked up at him upon entry and looked back down again once he began walking down the hall.

"Sorry I'm late, snow," Frank attempted to explain before seeing that there were two faces and that was Brian and his student Gerard from the week prior.

"Oh, no, it's not problem! Frank, this is Gerard, we were just about to start but I guess you two might as well meet while you're both here. You two remind me of each other a bit, I bet you'd get along great," Brian rambled a bit while the now wide-eyed boy stared at Frank. His eyes were pretty dark in comparison to the somewhat lake blue color of Brian's. 

"Hi, I'm Frank," the employee introduced himself somewhat confidently though his nose was stuffing up bad and he began feeling ill again from the snow. 

"Gerard." The two smiled a bit at each other before the lesson resumed and Frank exited into the waiting room once again to mess around with the coffee machine and play with the dog.

 

\------

 

Jack sat on his bed with a cellphone cord between his fingers as he twiddled his thumbs. Frank was sitting on the beanbag and the noise from Jack's family roared below them. 

"How's everything been going at the bike shop? Damn I sort of miss going over there, I really hate feeling like I'm in a fishbowl lately. Family's are shit, you know that right?" Jack complained with a mark-my-words sort of a tone.

"It's been okay; mostly just the guys huddled around a space heater like a bunch of pussies," Frank laughed and tossed his hat up and down to see how long it would take before he dropped it. 

"Sweet. God, lately my mom's been asking me all this shit like whether or not I've been feeling particularly 'close' to any of the girls at school. I'm just getting sick of it. Like what if it were like with her and my dad where they're five years apart and I meet my soulmate and she's 21?" Jack rolled his eyes jokingly. 

"What if things weren't that way though? Like, say none of our parents talked about it because everyone could just choose who they wanted?" Frank suggested. They'd been playing a long guessing game of sorts about soulmates and how it worked, they didn't talk about it with anyone but each other though. It was safer that way.

"I have no clue. Wouldn't that be sort of weird? I just feel like things would get sort of out of control though. I think the system's bullshit but even that's a bit extreme," Jack sounded uncertain, usually the roles were reversed. Just two weeks ago he was suggested how he didn't care, it seemed odd that he would say without the system that he loathed so much there would be no organization, at least that was what Frank thought.

"Not really, it just depends, like, what if everyone was a lot happier? Or if they met someone they didn't work with they'd try harder next time and learn from it?" 

"Yeah, but that's the whole point of having soulmates. You're literally genetically destined, no guessing or shit like that. I mean it might be sort of cool but that's why we have friends, to find people we work with and who we don't," Jack argued. "My mom would fucking kill me if she heard us right now," he sighed.


End file.
